R. Talsorian surprised a lot of people by saying that they are going to be working on a new edition of the classic Cyberpunk role-playing game. Cyberpunk Red is due in August 2019.

Cyberpunk Red is going to be set in the same time period as 2020 and transferring between the previous game and this one should still be possible with very few hiccups. The mechanics will be updated from 2020 as well using Fuzion which combines Interlock and HERO.

Keeping a lot of what kept the core game a fan favourite whilst also updating it for a modern role-playing audience is going to be an interesting challenge.

Watch out for Gen Con this year as we're no doubt going to see Cyberpunk Red make quite the splash.

What do you think?

"Watch out for Gen Con this year as we're no doubt going to see Cyberpunk Red make quite the splash..."

I agree. The keeping the year at 2020 is more than a little odd.
OTOH … they could do it as an expansion/DLC type of thing, because there’d be a ton of spoiler potential if this is released before the game itself.

The old CP2020 games needs to be dragged in to modern game design, and shifting the time up to 2077 would have been the better move imho. As all the books are now back in print I don’t see much incentive to get CP:Red if it is just a few tweaks of the old game.

I think the Cyberpunk IP is better known outside the game industry and has had a better digital life than Shadowrun but for story and gameplay I prefer Shadowrun. SR adds that fantasy concept of magic and additional races push all my buttons at once.

To stay with a ‘pure’ dystopian Sci-Fi RPG I would look at the Genesys system by Fantasy Flight Games and their Android Sourcebook. This gives you the access to the Android universe fro Net Runner using a game system based on story as told by the group, not just the game master.

Shadowrun had one (lousy) multiplayer game and a few midly successful computer rpg’s already.
That’s far more than Cyberpunk has had, except perhaps as a concept ready to be (ab)used for near future gritty sci fi like Deus Ex.

Shadowrun Returns, along with Hong Kong and Dragonfall are excellent and have taken much of the time I’m willing to give to digital games. My comment came more about influence than actually using the IPs. EA, Microsoft, Blizzard and other designers have been quoted as using the Cyberpunk RPG as a starting point for world design but you rarely see Shadowrun brought up because it’s not ‘pure’

Q: Will there be Roles (aka classes) in Cyberpunk Red?
A: Yes, there will be roles. They will be familiar but many will have evolved or changed. Some will have alternative special abilities. There will also be rules for changing roles during play.

Q: When in the timeline does Cyberpunk Red take place?
A: Cyberpunk Red takes place between the end of the 4th Corporate War (2022 or so) and 2077. We realize that’s a long stretch of time but aren’t yet ready to say where, specifically, in that time period Red will begin.

Q: What is Cyberpunk Red’s relationship to Cyberpunk 2077?
A: Red will show the Cyberpunk world in a period of rebuilding following the 4th Corporate War. It will help show how society moved from that world shattering event to what’s presented in the video game.

Q: What formats will Cyberpunk Red be available in? How much will it cost?
A: Cyberpunk Red will be a full color, hardcover book in physical form and a full color PDF in digital form. The suggested retail price is yet to be determined.